He’s still little–barely 30 lbs and 37 inches. His foot is still a 7! His favorite color is usually green and he loves cheese, pb& j sandwiches and apples.

He likes to read. Right now his favorites are the Magic Tree House, but he’s still not confident enough to read them himself, so they’re our read together books. He reads everything whenever we’re out–signs, papers, menus, etc.

He’s kicking butt in his swimming class. In just a couple of months he’s gone from hating to put his face in the water to swimming with his arms outstretched and kicking about 10-15 feet with his face down. He loves going every week.

Right now he’s really into his friends. He’s made some good ones at school that he loves to play with. Though, he is now “out in the world” and has become more energetic, more into guns and shooting–not real ones, but you know how little boys can make ANYTHING into a gun. Well, he does. Or tries to anyway. It’s so not ok here.

We’re not sure what it is about him, but he’s a popular little guy. He’s got a few girls who are just crazy about him. One of them is pretty mature and imaginative and they’ve “gotten married” and “gone on a honeymoon” before. Luckily Britton thinks it’s when you go far away on a trip looking for honey to eat. Whew. He’s a hit with the boys too.  We love him and think he’s great and all, but don’t know why everyone else does so much. But it’s kind of always been this way. Maybe he just has some X factor.

Which  leads me into his other personality traits lately–performing, singing and being a total character. He can sing “Baby” by Justin Bieber all the way through without music, as well as “Dynomite” by Taio Cruz. He likes to make things up too and just sing. Plus, his memory is amazing! He remembers things that happened forever ago, and memorizes so many things.We’re thinking of getting him back with an agent since it seems to be a talent of his.

He loves Angry Birds, his cars and learning things. He wanted a calendar, so we made one with cool extras. He loves doing it every day and is upset if we forget.

He is sometimes a great brother to Kaia and share with her and play with her, but other times not so much. She loves to do everything he does and likes to take his toys. So, I get why he doesn’t love it. But, he still tries.

Apparently he likes to make sure that everything runs smoothly in primary. He’s a Sunbeam now and so they sit on the front row. Since he can read, he knows when things aren’t read the way they’re printed and lets them know. He also thought that Noah’s Ark was like the Boston Tea Party (we watched a cartoon about it a couple of months ago. I didn’t think he was paying attention at all.) It’s fun hearing the latest about him every week.

We love his fun personality and are so happy to have him in our family.

That became the theme to his party. I had a lot of fun making the invites and preparing the activities.

I got the idea for these invitations online, but mostly created the whole thing myself. I was really happy with how they turned out.

The Birthday Banner.

Making bird feeders. They had fun with this one.

They turned out really cute.

Next we made Angry Birds masks. They glued and put them together mostly on their own.

So cute! I love how well they turned out. They liked wearing them too.

Then we played pin the tail on the Angry Bird. Mark made a poster of the red one and the kids took turns putting his tail on. Almost all of them peeked–or tried to–when they got close. But, what do you expect from 4-year-olds.

For “snack” I tried to tie it into the Rio theme as well, so I made traditional Brazilian foods of garlic/onion rice and cheese buns. Then added black beans, tropical fruit (mango, papaya, pineapple) and oranges and strawberries.

It seemed to be a hit!

The kids were having so much fun together and got along really well. I left the guest list up to Britton. He got to invite or not invite whomever he wanted. Unfortunately two friends on the list live far away, but we’ll get together in a couple of weeks!

They kept asking when it would be present time, so we did that after the food. I’m all about opening presents at parties. The kids are so excited to see their friend open what they picked out for them, and it also teaches them important life lessons–waiting your turn, being polite, being gracious etc.

So, whomever brought the present he was opening got to sit by him and be in a picture together. Pics weren’t working out so well–apparently the lens got a smudge, but here’s what we’ve got.

‘

He said “this song makes me happy” when listening to this. It’s the They Might Be Giants 123s

He’s fascinated with these cars, Automoblox. They’re fully interchangeable. He’s having lots of fun with them.

It’s a Hot Wheels Splash toy for the bath tub. We usually have to drag him in there. After the party he said, “mom, I’m dirty. I need a bath.” Because he wanted to play. Later that night we could barely get him out!

He’s in love with this thing. First, it’s Cars, second, it’s a plane. LOVE.

He loved ALL of the things he got. He really has great gift picking friends.

We sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles. It was cute. This is the  Angry Birds Rio Cake. The beach, city and rainforest. With some of the birds. The cake was Chocolate like he wanted–and it turned out soooo good! I got it here. We also used Marshmallow Fondant for the birds and to cover the cake.

I did the trees, fruit and frosting. Mark made all the birds and buildings. Good team effort.

Britton loved it and everyone was really impressed. And, even more impressive is the kids actually ate it!

These were the treat bags I made. They were for them to put their goodies they made, and also had a maraca and a string of beads for Rio’s Carnival.

I found the Angry Birds ribbon at the craft store and was excited about it!

Britton had a lot of fun with his friends, and they seemed to have a great time too. I’m so glad it turned out and everything went practically perfectly.

Happy 4th Birthday Britton! We love you!

Here’s Britton’s: Q&A

I just typed as he answered. What do you expect? He’s 3!

Unfortunately because of his show, he had to start two weeks late…so 4 school days. We went before we left and he met his teachers and just went right into the classroom and started looking around and playing with things. So, I knew he’d be just fine.

Ready to go!

The link below is a very short video of him just before we left. I don’t know why it didn’t embed it into the post, I’ll work on that. But, anyway, here it is:

Brit preschool

I know it cuts off weird, but the rest is me asking questions and him sort of answering and playing with his bag.

And, he LOVES it by the way. His favorite part is the “Question of the day.” So far they ask if they’re wearing a specific color.

After a year and a half, Britton’s run on the show has also come to an end. He has made many great friends, made many fun memories and is sad that it’s over (well, maybe me more than him).

The last couple days of shooting were a lot of fun because he was with all of the other kids and they always take care of him and play with him.

The Kids

Britton and his buddy

Favorite teacher Dana

Britton with his "grandma Erica"

B with friend Nichole

After the shooting wrapped and they got a cast photo, the next day was the AMC Wrap Party. It was fun to go out with Britton and spend time with him. Plus, we enjoyed getting out and doing something “adult” as well. Kaia was with my mom and was reportedly an angel.

It was at the:

in Hollywood.

Amazing cake made by a fan

Britton with his friends

Drai's rooftop

B and stage manager Michelle

M, B with his fan Bob (casting director) and assistant

Making crazy faces with "Aunt Bianca"

B with his "two" mommies

Playing and colliding with T and J

Getting a good view

Elizabeth, Ellah, B and Mark

There was a video that they had a hard time getting to work, but it was behind the scenes photos, videos with the cast and crew, clips from the show etc. They had a part in there from this week where they took “family photos” but also videoed and there was Britton in the front saying “Oh, they’re taking pictures.” It was so cute. I hope we can get a copy of it, because there were supposedly more pictures of the kids too.

We had a really fun night visiting with people and saying “see ya later.” Britton liked playing with the kids and getting passed around by his friends. Everyone will be missed! But, we do look forward to keeping in touch and seeing them again.

Farewell AMC!

After the AMC Kids event, we had an all too short visit with our first besties, Mav and Paige. I also got to see their super cute new guy Tuck.

We all had a great time, and the hours flew by quickly. I’m bummed I didn’t get a pic of Paige or the baby, but I hope to next time. When asked who his friends are, Britton always says “Maverick and Paige and Max.” Sometimes Paige even comes first.

There’s a pool at my mom’s place and we spent a lot of time there. There is a 2 foot section, so B could “swim” by himself, and Chez helped too. Kaia LOVES the water. On the first day I saw a girl giving her baby swimming lessons (she’s a real instructor) and so over the next few visits she gave me pointers. Kaia was always happy to put her face in the water or go onto her back. Like, so excited about it. I’ve got to get her into lessons here. And Britton liked to pretend he was swimming too.

Just don’t try getting him to do a back float or really go under.

Grandma Sheri even got to come one afternoon. Britton even got her to go in the water!

On our last day in town our other besties Max, Eden and Linda came for a swim. The boys had a blast playing together, and eating sandwiches.

Kaia and Eden had fun together too. They’re just under 2 months apart. Such cute girls! We were sad when they had to go home.

We got B’s next shooting dates, and they were just far enough away that we decided to go home, and fly back. So, the next day we headed out. The drive went pretty well. We got to stop at Angie’s again for a little fun and food. Britton wasn’t too happy when we had to leave.

Then at Shaela’s the dogs were happy to see them…and I think vice versa. Kaia wasn’t as afraid of them as before. We’ve discovered that Kaia has a thing for men. She likes them a lot better than women for sure. She’s always gone to Greg easily, but she’s been around him since she was born. Sometimes she likes Grandma, but I usually have to be nearby. At Shae’s she wasn’t too keen on going to her, but she went to Ethan right away and was just fine. Silly girl.

The next day we visited with my grandparents. GiGi and Gpapa to the kids. Grandpa indulged Britton with some ball throwing, and they played with the toys.

The little crawler came up for her close up.

Kaia with GiGi and GPapa. She went to him right away too.

Later we went to Cassie’s and played with her and Kaylee for a while. We got snow cones. I was so excited. I love them so much, but we don’t have any around here that I’ve seen. They’re very hard to find in LA too.

They are sharing a small. That’s right, each has HALF of a small. And B almost ate the whole thing. Not that I blame him. The Pina Colada was delicious. I stuck to my usual of Tiger’s Blood, Raspberry and Watermelon. Sooo yummy! Then we headed back to Cassie’s house and the kids played while I went through some of Kay’s clothes for Kaia.

She decided to help. A mighty cute baby in a box for sure.  Not so helpful though. She did continue her love of guys though. When Jeremy came home she was really excited, even though she’s seen him like once before. Apparently he was hilarious.

The next day we had a “normal” morning, then went riding in the afternoon.

Our Hayseed. He looks like a natural up on the hay.

He even took over the reigns on Star. He learned the “kiss kiss” and “woah” plus a little turning I think.

Kaia’s first ride. She had fun for a while, and did good on a trip around. But then she saw me again and it was all over. Bummer.

Then we got more snow cones near Shae’s house. They weren’t as big, but just as delicious. Grandpa Jim came to visit too. Since he didn’t have a nap, Britton fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner…he slept the whole time!

We had a nice trip this time. It was fun seeing everyone…it’s been a few months. Kaia has changed a lot, and is much more mobile, so it was a bit of a challenge keeping her out of things,

The first one was “Scoops with AMC Kids” where the kids on the show along with their tv moms came and ate ice cream with the fans. Britton was a little intimidated at first, but had fun playing with his friends and meeting people.

Kaia and Chez ready to party

B and Jake just hanging out

This is the room before the ice cream…

Britton and Jake got into a wrestling match on the floor

During the raffle, Britton thought he’d help too, so he climbed up next to Danielle to read tickets. It was a fun event for the kids.

The next day was the “Main Event” with a lot of the cast members and a whole ball room full of people.

Britton being nice to Kaia before all the craziness.

She thought she’d try taking his face off. Then the next second there were kisses, so they’re friends.

Hanging out with new buddy Tate

All the kids just playing around

Kaia and one of her fans, the gorgeous and super nice Stephanie  Gatschet.

Britton being introduced to the crowd with Tate

Host and MC, JR Martinez. Super nice guy. Kaia LOVED him and wouldn’t let go of his finger when he walked by and said hi to her before the event. Oh, and that’s Britton by him. He was a little scared to go up on the stage and needed a hug from me. But, his “aunt” Bianca took care of him.

That’s him in the back row on the far right. Hunched over, asleep. Don’t worry, he woke up at the end.

Mommy Kendall's entrance

Signing autographs. He does most of the writing himself. I just “steady” his hand a bit.

B with Mommy Kendall. She is so great too. He LOVES her!

As we were leaving he thought these chairs would be fun to sit in.

I think he had a lot of fun. We’ll see what happens over the next year!

Miss Kaia was supposed to sleep most of the time, but true to her nature she couldn’t miss a thing and woke up just after we got there…and lugged her in her baby carrier to the meeting place. Sigh.

Anyway, Britton had fun looking at Angel Moroni and his trumpet, and studying all the rocks and trees. But, the best part was the end when the tour guide had the children touch the temple.

The tour guide said it is something President Monson did with his granddaughter to help her get a sense of reverence and love for the temple, because once you touch it, it touches you.

It’s true.

So, I am writing for myself how I feel about being a mom and Mother’s Day etc.

I love being a mom. Some days I wonder how I got where I am, because in my head I’m not as old as the calendar says I am, and I don’t feel as mature as I assume a mom should be, or it’s not what I pictured it would be like or something. But, I am very thankful that I am here and where I am and that I have my two wonderful angels. I have been very very lucky in the fact that I had no trouble conceiving or carrying them. I have so many good friends who longed to be mothers for a very long time before they got their dream.

Sometimes it’s very tiring–like when Kaia wakes up every hour at night–but all that is outweighed by the hugs, grins, kisses and laughter that they bring to my life.

I am thankful for my sweet, angel Britton who is so funny and smart and enthusiastic about everything. He is growing into being three with all that implies, but he still has a sweet heart and tries so hard to be good. So, on his off days when there are meltdowns and outright disobedience I really try hard not to get mad and frustrated with him because I know he’s just little. But sometimes I fail. The best part is that he’s so forgiving and 5 seconds later he’s giving me a hug and a kiss and telling me “I need to talk to you,” or “I need to snuggle you.” Though, lately he gets annoyed and acts all put out. “Ugh (BIG sigh), well, I want to…” then he does it again 2 seconds later. Apparently I am exasperating. I’m constantly amazed at how much he knows and picks up on and I know I have a very special guy on my hands that I get to take care of and nurture and help grow.  And not just with the healthy foods that he tells me he needs to eat.

Britton and Addie, good friends

Sorry it’s blurry, we were all walking.

Then there is my sweet Kaia. She is so drastically different than her brother. Very sweet and smiley, but she definitely knows what she wants and is determined she will get it. Sometimes I think she is an old soul who is just trying to figure out this body thing so she can get on with more important things like figuring out the universe. She always wants attention and has to be in sight of me at all times. Even though it’s a big adjustment from Britton who liked doing his own thing, and kind of a pain, it does make me feel good that she loves her mommy so much and  wants me to be with her. Though, unless she’s very tired she isn’t cuddly, so that’s a little disappointing. But I love smelling her little baby hair and getting all the snuggles and kisses I can. I don’t get a lot of things done when she’s not sleeping because she likes me next to her, but I try to relish it.

Me and sweet Kaia

It seems lately that a lot of people my age have been losing their children, or have passed away themselves leaving children behind. I’m sure that it isn’t any more than normal, but in this blogging world their stories are getting a wider audience. I just learned today that a friend from high school lost her 2 month old baby a year ago ( I think the same day I found out I was pregnant with Kaia) to Whooping Cough. So sad! We’ve had that here this year and I didn’t realize how big of a deal it is. I am making my appointment for my booster shot asap.

Anyway, it’s made me realize that things can change at any time and not to take things for granted. I want to just savor each moment the most that I can. I want to play and teach and do activities with the kids as much as I can because I know that it’s the most important thing.

My Mother’s Day this year was just me and the kids. Mark had a work conference in SF, CA. But honestly, I didn’t mind. As much as I LOVE help and to be pampered, I wouldn’t want to “take the day off” from being a mom, because it’s my favorite thing. Don’t get me wrong–nap time is cherished here, and I will cry when it’s over, but I love when they wake up too.

Anyway, this is super long, but…oh, i’m getting a Kaia kiss…I wanted to get this written down so I and everyone will know how much I love my little ones and how privileged I feel to be their mom.

Also–I want to tell my mom how much I appreciate her. She is so giving of her time she often has no time for herself. She is always there to listen and help with whatever is needed. I’m lucky to have her.

My mom with the kids

She adores these guys and I still get guilt trips for moving…even though she sees us more since we moved than she did when we lived there. Thanks mom. We feel loved.

I tried to help Britton learn the meaning of the holiday, but I’m not quite sure how well that went. Easter morning:

He liked his basket.

and finding his eggs and putting them in his basket.

Kaia liked her basket too.

Kaia before church. So stinkin’ cute!

He likes her now. I love this picture!

We had dinner with our friends. The food was great and the kids loved playing together. I am so thankful for Easter and the Resurrection and the promise that we have to live again after we die.